WEBVTT
TROUBLEMAKERS AREN'T
IN THEIR NEIGHBORHOOD.
THEY ARE COPS, BUT THEY DON'T
HAVE BADGES OR MAKE ARRESTS.
COP IS SHORT FOR CITIZENS ON
PATROL.
>> MISCHIEF NIGHT IS OFTEN BUSY.
REPORTER: PATROL GROUPS FROM
PRECINCT 6 GATHERED INSIDE THE
BALTIMORE COUNTY POLICE
HILLENDALE RESOURCE CENTER,
WHICH WILL SERVE AS THEIR
COMMAND POST FOR MISCHIEF NIGH
VOLUNTEER IS MINGLED BEFORE
HEADING OUT TO PATROL THE
NEIGHBORHOODS.
>> IT REALLY VARIOUS -- BERRIES
WHICH NEIGHBORHOOD, WHEN THEY GO
OUT AND HOW THEY GO OUT.
REPORTER DRIVERS ROLLED OUT IN
CARS MARKED WITH LOGOS AND
FLASHING LIGHTS.
DAVID RIDDLE HAS BEEN PATROLLING
COMMUNITY FOR A DECADE LOOKING
FOR SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY.
>> SOMEBODY COMING OUT OF THE
WINDOW, A GARAGE, OR A HOUSE
THAT IS DARK, SOMEBODY RUNNING
AROUND THE YARD, THE
NEIGHBORHOOD WE KNOW WHO IS AND
WHO IS IN THEIR.
YOU SEE SOMETHING THAT LOOKS OUT
OF PLACE AND THAT KIND OF THING.
REPORTER: VOLUNTEERS CALL POLICE
IF THEY COME ACROSS A POTENTIAL
CRIME IN PROGRESS.
RIDDLE TELLS ME THINGS ARE
TYPICALLY PRETTY QUIET.
>> FORTUNATELY, I HAVEN'T COME
ACROSS TO MUCH OF ANYTHING.
ACCIDENTS HERE AND THERE.
SOMEBODY RAN OUT OF GAS ONCE
REPORTER:.
BUT THEY ARE KEEPI WATCH JUST
IN CASE ESPECIALLY ON THE EVE OF
, HALLOWEEN.
PAT FRANCE: WE'RE THE EYES AND
THE EARS OF THE POLICE AND MANY
TIMES A CITIZEN ON PATROL HAS
HELPED SOLVE A CRIME.
SGT. STEPHEN FINK: IT'S
EFFECTIVE, IT DOES ITS JOB,
THESE PEOPLE ARE VERY DEDICATED
TO THEIR NEIGHBORHOODS AND TO
MAKING SURE THAT THINGS STAY
SAFE.
REPORTER: TOWSON AREA CITIZENS
ON PATROL HAVE BEEN GATHERING
FOR THE COORDINATED MISCHIEF
NIGHT PATROLS FOR 16 YEARS.
LIVE IN TOWSON, VANESSA HERRING,

Halloween eve is known as "mischief night," when teens and kids may try to stir up trouble in their neighborhoods, and because of that a patrol group is out trying to keep things under control.

These patrol groups are COPs, but they don’t have badges or make arrests. These are Citizens on Patrol.

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"They’re an extra set of eyes and ears for us out there,” Baltimore County police Sgt. Stephen Fink said.

Patrol groups from the Towson precinct gathered Sunday inside the Hillendale Resource Center, which served as their command post for mischief night. Volunteers then headed out to patrol their neighborhoods.

"Mischief night is often a little busy,” said Mike Calwell, president of the Towson area Citizens on Patrol "It really varies on the neighborhood on when they go out, how long they go out.”

Drivers rolled out in cars marked with logos and flashing lights. David Riddle has been patrolling the Knollwood Donnybrook community for a decade looking for suspicious activity.

"Somebody coming out of a window, of a garage or house maybe or a house that’s dark and there’s somebody running around the yard in the neighborhoods,” Riddle said. “We kind of know who is or isn’t there so if you see something out of place that kind of a thing."

Volunteers call police if they come across a potential crime in progress. Riddle said things are typically pretty quiet.

"Fortunately I haven’t come across too much of anything,” Riddle said. “Accidents here and there and we just call them in. Somebody ran out of gas once."

But the Citizens on Patrol members said they are keeping watch just in case, especially on the eve of Halloween.

“We’re the eyes and the ears of the police and many times a citizen on patrol has helped solve a crime,” Pat France, vice president of the Towson area Citizens on Patrol, said.

Fink said Citizen on Patrol groups are an effective way to help police monitor a community.

“It does its job,” Fink said. “These people are very dedicated to their neighborhoods and to making sure that things stay safe."